Law Commons^™

Foiled By The Banks? How A Lender's Decision May Support Or Undermine A Jurisdiction's Environmental Policies That Promote Green Buildings, Darren Prum

Darren A. Prum

In a report from the United Nations Environmental Program that addressed climate change, the authors point out that the built environment in both emerging and developed countries accounts for more than forty percent of the global energy usage while also emitting at least one third of the world’s greenhouse gasses. They further assert that the built environment offers an unsurpassed opportunity to supply cost effective, lasting, and meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In response to such a call to action, many state and local governments turned to a variety of policies to ensure that the real estate developments within …

Tmi About Pmi: A Basic Guide To Private Mortgage Insurance, Marie Sarantakis

Marie Sarantakis

Purchasing a home for the first time can be an intimidating and overwhelming experience for the average consumer. In an economic downturn, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is a commonly utilized mechanism that affords homebuyers the ability to purchase a residence with a minimal down payment while insulating the lender as the beneficiary of the policy. PMI is an often dreaded and misunderstood expense. This basic guide provides a rudimentary understanding of PMI for a real estate novice.

Against Regulatory Displacement: An Institutional Analysis Of Financial Crises, Jonathan C. Lipson

Jonathan C. Lipson

This paper uses “institutional analysis”—the study of the relative capacities of markets, courts, and regulators—to make three claims about financial crises.

First, financial crises are increasingly a problem of “regulatory displacement.” Through the ad hoc rescues of 2008 and the Dodd-Frank reforms of 2010, regulators displace market and judicial processes that ordinarily prevent financial distress from becoming financial crises. Because regulators are vulnerable to capture by large financial services firms, however, they cannot address the pathologies that create crises: market concentration and complexity. Indeed, regulators may inadvertently aggravate these conditions through resolution tactics that consolidate firms, and the volume and …

Dodd-Frank’S Risk Retention Requirement: The Incentive Problem, Amy L. Mcintire

Amy L. McIntire

On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act into law (Dodd-Frank). Promulgated by Congress to promote the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability and transparency in the financial system, the bill represented an almost complete overhaul of the entire financial regulation system. Specifically, a provision in the bill mandated that securitizers “retain not less than five percent of the credit risk for any asset,” and this requirement became known as the “risk retention requirement.” Legislators hoped that, by forcing securitizers to hold onto a percentage of the risk …

A Preliminary Look At State Structures For Regulating Financial Services, Elizabeth F. Brown

Elizabeth F Brown

Within the past thirty-five years approximately fifty nations have consolidated their financial regulatory agencies into either a single integrated agency or into two semi-integrated agencies. The United States has resisted this trend, due in part to a concern that the costs of such significant consolidation would exceed its benefits. The existing studies that compare the costs of the consolidated regulators around the world with the United States regime have often been discounted because they have been unable to control for differences in culture and regulatory intensity between those other countries and the United States. This article attempts to address this …

Assessing Risk, Liability And Asset Management Investments Among U.S. And Foreign Banks: Bank Of America, Wells Fargo, And Wachovia, Valencia Tamir Johnson Dr.

Valencia T Johnson

In recent years, banks have had a positive and negative impact on assessing risk, liability and asset management from other competitors such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Wachovia. There have been many recent discussions about the U.S. and International banking management and investments. The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Exchange Commission are finding ways to evaluate the negative and positive behaviors exhibited by other financial institutions, which has an impact on the global economy, and in regards to financial management and investments. This article explains the important of assessing the risk and compliance management in financial banking and …

International Money Laundering: The Need For Icc Investigative And Adjudicative Jurisdiction, Michael R. Anderson

Michael Anderson

Money laundering is one of the most pressing issues in the realm of international financial crimes. One of the biggest issues involved in international money laundering is the problem of adjudication. There is no international organization that currently hears these sorts of claims, forcing nations to adjudicate these crimes on their own, often without adequate resources to effectively investigate and enforce their money laundering statutes.

This article argues that, in order to more effectively prevent and adjudicate international money laundering offenses, the International Criminal Court should adopt an international money laundering statute designating these activities as a crime within the …

U.S. Appellate Court Ruling Deals Fatal Blow To Argentina Brady Bond Debt Swap, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

No abstract provided.

Both Giving And Taking: Should Misuse Of Atms And Electronic Payment Systems Be Theft, Fraud Or Neither?, Alex Steel

Alex Steel

Although transactions via automatic teller machines and other computerised cash payment systems are now very widespread the criminal law relating to their misuse remains confused. Unauthorised withdrawals can be prosecuted as both theft and fraud. By contrast, similar behaviour involving interactions with human tellers is generally not criminal. The result is a deeply flawed and contradictory legal landscape. This article provides an analysis and critique of the case law and legislation that has led to this result and proposes an alternative statutory offence that better reflects the commercial and consumer realities of electronic transactions.

• The Credit Crisis And Subprime Litigation: How Fraud Without Motive ‘Makes Little Economic Sense’, Peter Hamner

Peter Hamner

The recent collapse of the financial markets spurred numerous lawsuits seeking a faulty party. Many plaintiffs argue that market participants committed securities fraud. They claim that deficient subprime loans caused the financial crisis. These risky loans were allegedly originated by banks to be sold off to third parties. The subprime loans were securitized and spread throughout the financial markets. The risk these loans presented was allegedly not disclosed to the buyers of the loans and securities on the loans. As these deficient loans and securities began to default the financial markets came to a halt. This article argues that securities …

The Tyranny Of The Multitude Is A Multiplied Tyranny: Is The United States Financial Regulatory Structure Undermining U.S. Competitiveness?, Elizabeth F. Brown

Elizabeth F Brown

This Article examines whether the U.S. regulatory structure undermined U.S. competitiveness with foreign financial markets, particularly the United Kingdom's markets.

E Pluribus Unum -- Out Of Many, One: Why The United States Needs A Single Financial Services Agency, Elizabeth F. Brown

Elizabeth F Brown

The United States needs to consolidate the over 115 existing state and federal agencies that regulate banking, securities and insurance firms and their products and services into a single, federal financial services agency; a U.S. Financial Services Agency (“US FSA”). The US FSA would be able to more effectively regulate the U.S. financial services industry than the existing regulatory regime. The current U.S. financial regulatory regime suffers from a range of problems, including an inability to anticipate and plan for future financial crises, an inability by regulators to quickly adapt to market innovations and developments, inconsistent regulations for financial products …